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The birds are eating me out of house and home this frigid week, with black oil sunflower seed evaporating from 3 feeders daily. I could easily fill them all twice daily, but am now limiting it to once a day. The tiny thistle seeds so coveted by American Goldfinches last longer, even with a lot…

Most of us make New Year’s Eve or Day one of celebration with family and friends. I like to use New Year’s as a time to review my plans and goals for the coming year, to be sure I’ve set the ladder I’ll be climbing against the right wall. I love this day and look…

Even in winter, the chickens are outdoors at Ole Dern Farm in Fort Collins, scratching for seeds, insect cases, any tiny green shoots they can find, enjoying the sunshine and fresh but frigid air. Not so in the Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO’s) that provide standard care for most of the animals destined for the…

How do we know what is “in season” when we are shopping? We can buy cantaloupe anytime of the year we feel like it. How can there be “personal” watermelons in December? Cherries in January? Asparagus, a spring crop, is available year round now. How do we know what to buy, if we want to…